Tom Brady may have left the NFL behind, but his playbook is far from closed — especially when it comes to his surprise second act in British football. Months after joining Birmingham City Football Club as a minority owner and board advisor, the seven-time Super Bowl champion says his ambitions are only just beginning — and he’s making it clear: he’s not here for the press shots. He’s here to build… Details below

Tom Brady may have left the NFL behind, but his playbook is far from closed — especially when it comes to his surprise second act in British football. Months after joining Birmingham City Football Club as a minority owner and board advisor, the seven-time Super Bowl champion says his ambitions are only just beginning — and he’s making it clear: he’s not here for the press shots. He’s here to build… Details below

Tom Brady is standing on the pitch at Wembley, embracing the atmosphere and discussing the moments leading up to a final.

“It always feels like a different energy because the context is slightly different,” the seven-time Super Bowl winner and minority investor in Birmingham City tells The Athletic before kick-off.

Despite all the high-profile NFL encounters he was involved in as a player with the New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, this showpiece occasion in the EFL (English Football League) Trophy — the knockout competition contested by teams in League One and League Two (the third and fourth tiers of the game in England), plus academy sides from the Premier League — has piqued his interest.

Dressed as sharp as his throwing skills once were, with sunglasses keeping out the glare of the fading sun, Brady attended Wembley on Sunday first to congratulate Birmingham on their promotion to the Championship and then to see whether they could add another trophy to an impressive campaign.

“Unfortunately, I can’t be out on a sports pitch anymore (as a player) but I can contribute in other ways,” the 47-year-old former quarterback says. “I really want to see young guys maximise their potential and I’ve seen the ways that sport can impact a community, so I want to be a part of that.”

A 2-0 defeat to Peterborough United — who have never lost at Wembley — won’t stop him Brady his tracks. Although this was a rare taste of disappointment for Birmingham this season, the bigger picture still looks bright for them. In a week where the club confirmed their return to the second tier and were crowned League One champions on Saturday as Wrexham dropped further points, this cup-final heartache can be quickly forgotten.

Although defeat was not in the script, it’s also not lost on the loyal supporters that doing the business in the league was more important than anything else this season. In 2011, when Birmingham were last at the national stadium, they won the League Cup final against Arsenal before suffering relegation from the Premier League a couple of months later.

It’s only now that the club are properly recovering from the mismanagement that followed for over a decade as owners Knighthead, fronted by chairman Tom Wagner, alongside the subtle assistance of Brady, look to transform the future.